Misbehave
by bendita15
Summary: Sasuke has a great life: good friends, a great girlfriend and he's about to graduate college. Then he meets the new guy. I do not own Naruto, nor do I gain any profit from this fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Sasuke's kinky. Some of what goes on in this chapter might be offensive. There is blindfolding, gagging, ageplay and he doesn't obey her when she asks him to untie her. They negotiated before they did this, so everything is consensual. They are both nineteen, she's only acting fourteen. This is the only chapter that has SasuHina. They're going to break up and this will be a genuine NaruSasu, I promise.

-Misbehave-  
She sweats when we have sex and is very enthusiastic. I don't sweat when we have sex, and I don't make much noise. Her body is slippery. I have dry skin. My brother—why I am I thinking about him at a time like this? Disgusting—teases me about it. "Sasuke's ashy!" he smirks. "Shut up, Itachi," is all I can ever think of to say. My hair is longer than hers. Her eyes are naturally white, I swear. I can't tell if she's ever rolled them into the back of her head. We're kinky, I guess. Doesn't everybody tie their partners up (or down) while they have sex? Sometimes, like now, we role-play. Our most frequent one is teacher-student. She likes to "be" fourteen. She misses being fourteen, so she chose to be that age in role-play during sex. If we were in Japan, nobody would blink. Here in America, people might find that odd. She's good at what she does. We're not in a D/s or M/s relationship and she doesn't like pain during sex. Mostly, it's the role-playing and dirty-talking. I do it to her, and she responds. I didn't lose my virginity to her. I had sex for the first time when I was—I don't even remember. I do remember she was a one-night stand and we never saw each other again. I was slightly sad for a few days, but quickly stopped caring.

"Can you reposition your hands?" I look down at her and move my hands from her shoulders to her shoulder blades. I'm no longer physically holding her down. Our chests knock together almost painfully. She's about to come. She likes being held down at first, and she struggles forcefully. The first time we negotiated the scene, she told me she liked to struggle while blindfolded and gagged. I told her she'd have to work me into overpowering her and holding her down. It became easier after the second time, and I grew to like it. I enjoy blindfolding, gagging and tying her down immensely.

She shifts her hips and I groan, reveling in the sensation and the noises she makes. I didn't gag her this time. I have more intense orgasms when she screams through the gag. Recently, I developed a technique of removing the blindfold when she has her orgasm. That does a lot for her. Her body convulses as she cries out. It's kind of a weird feeling when her vagina ejects its natural lubrication. Most of it gathers onto the outside of the condom, but a little bit always collects on her inner thighs.  
Her chest heaves as I continue. She always has more than one orgasm, and she becomes louder and more…I hesitate to use the word 'wanton', with each one. More…never mind. She struggles against the ropes that tie her wrists to the headboard.  
"I want out!" she squeaks, "being" fourteen.  
Oh my god, I love this.  
"No," I growl.  
"Please untie me," she starts to giggle. I can't help but smirk as I refuse her request once more and go harder.

She always has deep, red ligature marks on her wrists afterward. I put ointment on them, and bandages. She hides them with long sleeves or thick bracelets. "Oh," she groans. "Please-please-please Sasuke." Sometimes she giggles or laughs. I've never minded much. It makes me feel less of a pervert for not listening to the word 'no'. It's completely consensual in reality, but still. I kiss her. "Why do you want me to untie you, baby?"  
"'Cause…well, I don't know," she smiles. "I bet you don't," I mumble. "Put your ankles on my back."  
"No! That's so slutty!" More arching. She throws her head back. I quickly knock my hand against the headboard, catching her head so she doesn't hurt herself. I don't want to have to answer questions at the hospital, even though paramedics and ER doctors have seen everything six times over.  
"Untie me!" She has cold hands and feet like me.  
"Good girl," I whisper in her ear, biting it. "I'm still not going to untie you." I stroke her gently.  
"Why NOT?" she whines. Sometimes, her act of fourteen-years-old drops to five. That's so creepy.  
"Because—oh wow—you act like a child and you're a teenager. I teach teenagers."  
"I know," she moans loudly. I cover her mouth. Her breath turns to loud yowls as she has another orgasm. Her skin is flushed an obnoxious shade of pink. I move my hands back to her shoulders and grip them tightly as my body jerks, my breath exits in three forceful pants, and I come.

Carefully, I roll away from her and flop down on my back. "You can go back to being nineteen now," I manage, breathing heavily. "So can you." She runs her fingers through my hair.  
"That was intense."  
"Thank you. I thought so too." She snuggles up to me. I push her gently away. "Not yet. Wait." She frowns as I reach under the covers and remove the condom. I stand on shaky legs and walk to the bathroom, disposing of it in the wastebasket. Condoms are sticky. It's unpleasant, but they do their job so I won't complain much. "Okay." I drape an arm around her.

We don't talk to each other after we have sex. We just cuddle. One of us always drifts off to sleep. The other one showers. Then, we eat together and go about the rest of our day. It's a very comfortable routine.

"Sasuke?"  
I turn my head and look at her.  
"I love you."  
Sometimes after sex, she says that.

"I love you, too," I mumble. Sometimes I wonder if I really do. I like her. The sex is mind-blowing, and we have a lot of fun together. We respect each other and like spending time together. I still wonder, though. It's not like I'm going to leave her or anything. The front door slams. "I'm home!" Kiba hollers. Hinata and I roll our eyes. We can hear Akamaru's claws clicking on the kitchen floor. Hinata can hardly keep her eyes open. "Go to sleep. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready."

She makes an affirmative sound in her throat as I wrap a towel around my waist and step into the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: I do not own NuvaRing, Mirena, the World Cup, or the FBI (boo). Kiba's mean in this chapter and uses a homophobic slur. I think he's genuinely a nice guy, but this is the way his character is developing for the purposes of this fanfiction. He's not a rabid homophobe in this story, but it does crop up occasionally.

I can't concentrate. The guys are over. Not only that, the World Cup has been on. Right now it's Colombia and Honduras. Then, England plays Japan.  
Of course the guys are loud. Of course the TV is loud. Hinata meanders through the room, a flat, dark, round tray heaped with sashimi in one hand and a flat, round, dark plate heaped with cookies and cupcakes in the other. Once the dishes are down on the table, the guys descend like vultures. Ino and Sakura rush in with more food as Hinata leans for and whispers to me, "I pulled a muscle in my neck from last night, Sasuke." She blushes deeply and I smirk, telling her to put something on it. She smiles and retreats into the kitchen.  
Sakura and Ino pause their jabbering long enough to loudly suggest I'm hitting my girlfriend. "The phrase 'man-hating dykes' comes to mind," Kiba hollers, hoisting Akamaru's front paws onto his shoulder so he can hold him better. "Kiba," Chouji hisses, mortified. "Calm down," I raise my voice over the noise. "Sakura and Ino are still angry because I'm dating Hinata and not either of them."

"How long has it been?" Laughter erupts as Sakura and Ino blush furiously. They do this every time the two get together. It gets old. I'm not hitting Hinata. Ino and Sakura aren't lesbians. They've been upset ever since I kissed Hinata in public—what—a year ago. It really has been that long. They need to get over themselves. "GOAL!" The Honduran fans scream as the rest of us howl in temporary defeat. More plates and trays are carried into the living room. I try again to focus on my schoolwork. Hatsumomo begins to bawl. Hinata curls up next to me and diligently focuses on her own essay as the baby reaches her usual, FBI-could-use-this-as-harsh-interrogation levels. Lucky Akamaru. The white, soft-coat Jack Russell terrier puppy, at two years old, has brown, floppy ears and a brown pirate eye and was born completely deaf. He doesn't hear the baby. Kiba cradles him anyway. Temari rushes to hush her baby. Behind her back, everyone shoots Shino a glare. He clenches his jaw, refusing to look any of us in the eye.  
A commercial for Mirena birth control comes on. Temari claims she's on it. Everyone thinks she's lying except for Shino. He's eventually going to marry her. Poor guy. Hatsumomo falls quiet and Temari scoops her up. Shino follows them out the door. As it slams behind the couple and their baby, everyone cheers. Rude, yes. Warranted, absolutely! Akamaru whimpers. Kiba cuddles him as a comfort.

"Hey, everybody be quiet so Hinata can finish her essay."  
"Yeah, she's not faking her way through graduating like the rest of us are," Shika remarks.  
"Shut up, Sasuke! You're just being nice so you can fuck her later."  
"Up yours with a sandpaper-coated spike, asshole."  
The others groan. "Hey, let's leave Sasuke alone for awhile. Pass the sashimi."

"Poor Shino."  
"Yeah."  
"Pass the milk."  
"Heap the food in front of Chouji so he doesn't have to keep asking for it," Gaara pipes up. Laughter ripples through the studio condominium. "Seriously, does anyone know if it's his kid?"  
"She shows up a year and a month after their one night together, says the four-month-old is his and demands to move in. Bitch."  
"Strong language, Sakura."  
"Oh, shut up, we all know she is," Ino growls. "He should've fled the country to escape her skanky ass."

"Hey," Chouji protests again. He dislikes her as much as the rest of us, but he can't stand to hear anyone insulted. We stop. Colombia scores a goal. After the cheering dies down, Kiba can't resist saying some more stuff. "If you love your girl, you'll get her some pills or a prescription for NuvaRing. If you love your guy, you'll take those pills or put the ring in your vagina. Use condoms too…STDs probably suck."

"And if you're gay?" Neji asks. Everyone looks over at him. He shrugs. "Use condoms…STDs probably suck," Kiba repeats. "So who are you dating?" I ask Neji. "Shika."

"Oh." Nobody cares. We watch the rest of the games, talking and cheering loudly. Colombia wins against Honduras and Japan wins against England. Japan plays Colombia and wins, much to everyone's loudly expressed delight.

That night, I ask Hinata about her pills. She's taking them regularly but is switching to NuvaRing.


	3. Chapter 3

Tired college seniors, or at least the ones traipsing through the tiny condo, are hardly articulate. "Mumble-mumble food," Chouji slouches and heads for the refrigerator. "Help yourself. Hinata went grocery shopping a few hours ago," Temari chirps. I look up and grimace, rubbing my temples. Hinata and I, if we ever get serious, are NEVER having a kid, no matter what she says. Shino trudges in. I'm so tired, and it's only nine at night. All the people who live here—Chouji, Kiba, Shino, Temari, the baby, Hinata and I--are cramming for tests or checking all syllabi for their classes out of boredom and restlessness.

No, the baby is not. Temari's a stay-at-home mom. She barely made it through high school. Shino dropped out of college a month into fall quarter. He works two jobs and can more than support Temari and Hatsumomo. I was furious when his girlfriend and the baby moved in, demanding so much space to themselves! Greedy. They charmed Kiba; he's soft-hearted. Hinata's like that, too. Temari probably just offered Chouji food.

So, the students are tired but frantically studying.  
"Mumble-mumble Akamaru," Kiba talks to his dog, filling a dish with fresh water. He moves sluggishly, grumbling when water spills over his hands and onto the towel where the dish will go. Akamaru slurps from the dish eagerly, his butt wagging. "Mumble-stutter-mumble Sasuke?"

"What?" I can barely hear her. She clears her throat, raises her head and speaks louder. "What are your plans for tomorrow?" She asks this when she wants to have sex or celebrate something. We had sex last night—oh, our one-year anniversary is in a week, three days after Valentine's Day. Since they are so close, we only celebrate the anniversary. "Look for jobs, go to the library, go to the bank…place more books on hold, move through class syllabi, call friends, and maybe some other stuff." Hinata likes details, so I always tell her every damn thing I'll do. "You still need to call the bank a-and open that retirement thing," she reminds me as her cell phone vibrates in her pocket. She fishes it out, grimaces slightly and flips it open. "Moshi, moshi," she answers, and greets her mom. I've met her parents. They're strict, traditional…just like the mom's sister and her husband. Hinata and Neji are first cousins.

I look at the clock. Nine-thirty at night. Hinata is frustrated. When her mom calls, she locks herself in the second closet. It's pretty small and there's not a lot of room for privacy here, what with seven people and a barkaholic, hyperactive dog. She always emerges frustrated, and doesn't talk until sunrise the next day after these calls. Her parents probably criticize her mercilessly. Mine do. Neji's do.  
I hear Temari threatening Shino with sharp objects, her bitchy voice carrying through the silence and stress saturating the condo. She doesn't like that his alarm goes off at five in the morning. Well, he has to go to work to support you, bitch, I think sourly as I scribble down notes. This is my condo. I need to kick them out. My opinion had been overruled and I had surrendered because my friends help me pay rent. I think about how irresponsible Temari and Shino are with money and shake my head. "Hinata, how many days remain until graduation day?"

"A hundred and fifteen," she responds almost before I have finished asking the question. I close my eyes and will myself to get through those days. Hinata has a countdown in her mind. She looks at the clock and tells everyone to stop studying. "We all need to sleep, guys." Books shut with thuds and "good night" is repeatedly mumbled. Hinata locks the door. I turn out the lights.

Sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

I DO NOT OWN: The Cheesecake Factory, Hot Topic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (damn it) or any anime convention. I wasn't lying about my description of the one in question--a proposal and marriage really did happen at one.

I hand her the job application and turn to go. "I'm—looking over this," she calls to me without taking her eyes off the application. I stay put. "I'm having interviews next week. I'll call you then."

"Okay, great. Thank you," I respond, shaking her hand. "See you then," she smiles. It's a sarcastic smile—she hates her job. I can sense it. I leave the store after pulling the hood of my dark blue sweatshirt up. The bus ride home goes faster than usual. I thank the driver when he drives to my stop and walk home, my hands jammed in the pocket—pouch is a better word—of the sweatshirt. "Hey, how'd it go?" Kiba asks. Something is different about him—oh, Akamaru isn't around him. I see the dog sitting on top of the couch, staring out the big window into the street. "Fine." I move past Kiba.

"Man, I was so tired last night!" he prattles. "I stayed up for seventeen hours!"  
"It's normal to stay awake for sixteen, Kiba. The human body is designed for that."  
"I know, but seventeen! I finished five essays, applied for ten jobs and read fifty pages of my psychology textbook! Last night I kept thinking about how I need to do schoolwork today to have the grades I want, and I DREAMED about coffee." I nod as we enter the kitchen. "You don't even like coffee."  
"I know. I might need it though. How many days till the quarter ends?"  
"Too many." Chouji is crunching away on potato chips. "What are you talking about, Chouji? You have the internship of your dreams! You're a cook at the Cheesecake Factory!" He nods proudly. "Yeah, but you know I want to be a pastry chef."  
"You'd spend so much time sampling your own wares," I shake my head. "No one else would be able to eat them. You'll gain so much weight!" He shrugs. "I'm already fat. I wouldn't eat all my own creations. I'll let people eat them."  
"He says that now."  
We all laugh. "Sasuke, you're right though…my doctor says I have to lose weight starting yesterday." He frowns and promptly guzzles a glass of soda. "Chocolate milk tastes better," Temari breezes into the kitchen with the baby. "I'm lactose intolerant."  
"Bullshit," she puts her free hand on her free hip and readjusts her grasp on the baby with the other hand and hip.  
"She's got a point."  
Chouji ignores us and waddles away. He's proud of his gait and likes being fat. He hates being told what to do.

My phone buzzes and vibrates, tearing my attention away from my introspection and onto the phone's little screen. I don't recognize the number, so I click the button on the phone that allows the phone to stop vibrating. It vibrates again insistently—whoever called me has decided to leave a message.  
"Hi, Sasuke, this is Satori." I wonder who that is and how she knows me.  
"—so call me back to confirm your interview this Monday at two. The phone number here is—"  
I save the message and quickly dial the number.

"Thank you for calling Hot Topic. This is Satori. How may I direct your call?" She runs her words together as one, her boredom evident. "Hi, Satori, this is Sasuke—"  
"Oh, hi." She doesn't sound so bored anymore. "I'm calling to confirm my interview time."  
"Great. See you Monday at two."  
"See you." Click. Knock-knock. I stride out of the kitchen and open the door to admit Shika and Neji.  
"Hey."  
"Hi."

We sit down on the couch. "How's the job search?" I scowl and shake my head. "One interview. You lucky bastard, you have a job."  
"Stop whining and keep trying."  
I raise an eyebrow. Neji shrugs. "You get boring sometimes."  
"Hn."  
"Hey—Sasuke—do you have any plans for the weekend?"  
"No," I respond slowly, wondering about the break in his speech.  
"Neji and I were going to this thing with a friend, but that guy's in rehab. Do you want to go in his place?"  
"What kind of a thing?"  
"Well, it's kind of like going to Rocky Horror, only it starts at nine in the morning instead of midnight. The registration and checking in, anyway—and it goes for an entire weekend, Friday to Sunday. It's anime."  
"I don't even like anime."  
"I know, but it'd be a waste of a badge, a pre-registry fee and a hotel bed."  
"That means nothing to me whatsoever."

"The badges are plastic ID tags that clip onto your costume. People register so things can be planned accordingly, and they pre-register because it's cheaper and less of a wait to get to the events. There's things to do all twenty-four hours of each day, and people who are there late go sleep in hotel rooms. People come in from other states, so they stay in the hotel, too. Sasuke, imagine…" Great. Now he's about to bribe me because this is something I wouldn't ordinarily do.  
"Wait. At these conventions, what is there to do?"  
"There's the kickass opening and closing ceremonies--"  
"Kickass because you probably sleep through them."

"No, they're cool. There's movies, photo rooms, concerts, food, dating games—people have actually proposed at opening ceremonies and gotten married at these things the next day—there's seminars that teach about costume accessories, particularly wig-making and corset-making, learning about Japanese culture and…the dealers' rooms."  
"Drug deals?"  
"If only," Neji puts his arm around Shika as I burst out laughing at the mental images of people dressed up as characters, and on drugs. "No, they peddle anime-related stuff—Japanese comic books, clothing and bags that have slogans referring to anime sex, sweets, posters of J-pop singers and their CDs, um…" He looks at Shikamaru and they think of what else are in these rooms.  
"Wait. Anime characters can have sex?"  
"Dear god," Neji shakes his head.

"Are you on crack?" Kiba asks suspiciously. He's searching for Akamaru's collar, which he always puts in the living room before bathing his dog. "No, Sasuke's just stupid."  
"Fucker."  
"Yeah, so?"  
"I don't need those mental images," Kiba groans, quickly snapping the collar around the dog's neck.  
"Go away, Kiba." Shika, Neji and I speak at the same time. He does.  
"What's J-pop?"  
"Japanese pop music. Sasuke, even if it seems boring to you, at least…go to one of the dances. You'll meet people. You need to get out more, anyway."

"It's three days and two nights without a crying baby, her bitch of a mom, a barkaholic, deaf dog and so many people in such a small space." I stare at Neji. "That's it. I'm going." The two of them do a hand gesture that's a cross between a high-five and a handshake. "Okay, let's talk about costumes."  
"You really want me to do this, huh?"  
"Three days and two nights without a crying baby."  
"Okay, how about…"

"Happy anniversary."  
I roll over and open my eyes. "Happy anniversary to you, too."


	5. Chapter 5

"You've got to be kidding me." A girl with braces gapes at the large building before her. I turn so I too can see what she's seeing. "Told you it was popular," her companions nudge her. Neji reaches up and pulls the plastic string taut. The simple bell that accompanies the red letters is inaudible because there are so many people jammed into the small space, but the word 'STOP' glows on the small sign up front reassuringly. We're in the heart of downtown, an area in which I've never been. I live in the south region of the city, in the poorest part. Rampant gang violence makes the city unattractive, and the bulk of it happens in my neighborhood. I'm used to it, not the downtown district where the convention is taking place.

"Do they have ATMs nearby?" He's in his twenties by the sound of his voice. Nervous. Is he, too, a first-time attendant? "Next stop is the Events Center," the driver proclaims. Hands rise eagerly, immediately to pull the plastic string even though Neji did five minutes ago. We wait silently. The bus moves smoothly through traffic. It seems that every car is headed for the Events Center. I check the screen on my phone. The screen displays the current time prominently. 8:58 AM. A lot can happen in three minutes. I'll never admit this out loud, but I am nervous. The bus hisses as it stops and its doors jerk open. The sound of footsteps fills the air as people impatiently shuffle off the bus. "Thank you," is repeated, broken only by the sounds of the fare-box and slot accepting money. Many people use bus passes that resemble credit cards, swiping them through the slot on top of the fare-box hurriedly. Coins slip down the slot in the fare-box, and dollars are sucked into the slot near it. I slip a dollar and some coins into the appropriate slots, thank the driver and step heavily down the bus stairs. Shikamaru and Neji follow behind me.  
"So where are we going?" I turn to look at them. Neji steps in front of me.  
"Keep walking."  
"After check-in, I want to eat something."  
"Check-in for the hotel or con?"  
"Hotel."  
"I thought so."  
I don't eat breakfast. I'm never hungry in the morning. I'm never hungry when I'm nervous, either. It's morning and I am nervous. Why am I hungry?

Shikamaru grabs the hotel key and we traipse up to our room. Our feet thud dully on the steps. Neither of us feels comfortable in elevators, so we always take the stairs in any given place. It's good exercise anyway. Neji plunks his suitcase down on the left side of the first bed and removes his backpack. Shikamaru follows suit on the right side of their bed. I trot over to the second bed and carefully set down the two suitcases. The backpack bounces upon coming into contact with the bed. "Sasuke, what's with the second suitcase? I thought we'd all be able to fit our things into one suitcase plus a backpack, each."

"I fit all my stuff into one suitcase except for the costume I'm wearing tomorrow and its…accessories. The backpack has street clothes for Sunday, overnight stuff, my cell phone and wallet. Do they really let people check-in to the con on Thursdays?"  
"Yeah, after seven when most of the stuff is set up in preparation for tomorrow."  
"Oh."  
"We'll be eating convenience-store food for the next two days and nights. Maybe we might have enough money to eat a meal at a twenty-four hour diner. We should find out."  
"Neji."  
"What?"  
"This hotel has free breakfast every morning."  
He pauses. "We'll definitely have enough money to eat a meal at a twenty-four hour diner."

We grab our hotel keys, wallets and walk downstairs. It doesn't matter what part of the city you're in—walking or even driving in these streets is incredibly dangerous because every driver has road rage. We sprint across the street. Tires screech and drivers holler at us. "Oh, shut up," my mind shouts at them. It's not like we crossed on red or anything. The sign was blinking green the entire time! It's part of living in this city, though.

The convenience store is familiar, probably because it is one of a large chain. Shikamaru is grousing about how troublesome it always is to cross streets. Neji is examining a chocolate bar. He places it carefully back in its container. I ponder the chilled drink selection. Why is so much soda always stocked? The hotel room has a mini-fridge and a microwave. Does the convenience store have anything microwaveable that could constitute a meal?

"Shikamaru. Sasuke." We both turn. Neji is poking at his cell phone. "This store is open twenty-four hours a day. Let's come back tonight." He walks toward the door, never looking up from the small black hunk of plastic. Two slow, high-pitched beeping noises are emitted overhead as we step onto the sidewalk. "There's a sandwich shop that just opened. We can get enough food for the next three days for fewer than thirty bucks there."  
"I wish we'd planned things better."  
Shikamaru mumbles something about being troublesome.  
"Shut up. The hotel has free breakfast and the last day is closing ceremonies and check-out for everybody by noon, so we won't need to spend money on food the last day."  
We nod.

"Got twenty bucks?"  
"Does your friend always pay for you? Was he a drug dealer?"  
They both stare at me.  
"Don't answer that. Yes, I do."  
"Great. So do we."  
"Assholes!"  
"Sasuke, everyone carries cash around at cons. Debit cards are used at restaurants."  
"Why?" I'm relieved that I don't have to use as much cash as I originally thought.  
"Dealers prefer cash to credit. They'll take debit, but they won't be happy about it."  
"I take it they have those conversion machines."  
He nods.

The owners of the shop are smiling and shy. The shop smells good. It's crowded and loud. I listen as others order feta and mint sandwiches. Those, and mortadella sandwiches, are the most popular. The food is prepared quickly. I wonder why the women preparing the sandwiches aren't worried about their hands being chopped off—they're not even looking at what they're doing! They're talking to their customers, looking them in the eye and everything. The children in front of us order steak-on-pita sandwiches. The sound of knives chopping is audible as we approach. Six women talk and laugh with one another behind the counter in a language I've never heard before. One of the women looks to be our age. She smiles warmly. "Have you guys been here before?" We shake our heads. "Great! I love newcomers! My name is Zrina. Do you have any ideas for what you want?" We place our orders and at Zrina's request, sit down at one of the many small, round, polished brown tables. It's warm in here. Zrina calls to us. Shikamaru and Neji retrieve the food as I pay the cashier. Debit. If I pay for all the food with my debit card, we can eat more filling meals…my thoughts trail when I am nervous.

I study my sandwich. I'm not used to new foods. Flavor explodes in my mouth. I didn't know it would be so strong—feta cheese and mint. Wow. It's good, though.  
"How's yours?"  
"Good." Shikamaru pauses to answer, then returns to devouring the steak-on-pita sandwich.  
"I'm glad we're coming back here," Neji remarks. "I'll order this," he gestures to the mortadella sandwich, "until I can pronounce the name confidently."

"Now what?" I ask as we exit the restaurant. "Call your brother and tell him by tomorrow, you'll have photo proof that you followed up on the bet," Neji steps into the street. We follow. I glare at the back of his head, remembering my brother's challenge a month ago: Dress in three different, stereotypically effeminate outfits before my twentieth birthday, provide photo proof that I went out in public and tried to pass as a girl. As a reward, I'll get a fifty-dollar gift card to my favorite bookstore, another to a local coffee shop, and a third to my favorite kinky sex shop. My brother was drunk out of his mind and laughing—he laughs a lot when he's that drunk—when he dared me. I recorded what he was saying over my cell phone and agreed. The next morning, he was badly hung over and pissed off, but he smirked and agreed the deal was still valid.

"Hi, Itachi."  
"Where are you?"  
Oh, right, I haven't told anyone. "I'm…out."  
"Sasuke…"  
"What?"  
"I had no idea."  
I blush. "Shut up! That's not what I meant! I'm—not at my condo!"  
"Are you with a new girl? Cheating on Hinata?"  
"No!"  
He's always so smug when he works a reaction out of me.

"I called to tell you that over the next three days, I'm taking you up on the bet. Shika and Neji are with me. They're honest—they'll tease me mercilessly."  
"Good."  
"I hope Deidara dumps you," I grumble as my friends and I enter the hotel room.  
"I hope you go through all sorts of misfortune for that, Sasuke," he responds icily. Ooh, sensitive. We hang up. "How's your brother?"  
"An asshole as usual. The bet's still on. I'm using you as witnesses." Neji smiles at that. "Is it seven o'clock yet?" I exhale and fall back on my bed. "No. It's nearly twelve o'clock."  
"Call your girlfriend if you're bored, Sasuke." I sit up abruptly. "Oh, shit!"  
"What now?"

"I ordered some books online a few nights ago and won't be there to pay the shipping when they arrive!"  
"Relax," Shikamaru grumbles. "You won't get any of them until Wednesday." I fall quiet. "When are you going to pull that stick out of your ass?" he continues. "Never. It's part of my endearing personality."  
"Mine too," Neji looks out the window. "Troublesome," Shikamaru gazes up at the smooth, white ceiling. I fish my cell phone from my pocket, grab the spare hotel key and stride out of the room.  
"Sasuke, where are you?"  
"I'm with Shika and Neji. We'll be back on Sunday...afternoon."  
"Okay." Hinata's voice is so quiet.

The line is huge. People are dressed in street clothes—t-shirts and jeans, with some people wearing skirts.  
"Name?"  
"Sasuke Uchiha."  
"Let me see your ID."  
I show it to her. She narrows her eyes as she compares my photo to me. "Okay, here's your badge."  
"Thank you." As I break from the line, I stuff my ID back into my pocket. My back finds purchase against the wall I walk to. Shikamaru and Neji appear, badges clipped to their shirts. I quickly attach my badge to my shirt. The walk back to the hotel is silent and uneventful. The hotel is quiet even though it's nine at night. "Do people normally stand two hours in the line to get their badges?"  
"Of course. Two hours is actually pretty fast." Shikamaru turns on the TV and channel-surfs. Neji sits down on the floor to meditate. Eventually, we all sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The line to show our badges for the day is even longer. It's so loud here. Even though con rules dictate drinking isn't allowed, I see a few rowdy drunks and I hear others behind me. I don't like drunks. Silently, I follow Shikamaru and Neji into a large auditorium filled with hundreds of seats. There is a large white sight a the far end, or one far end. It stands behind a podium and the general stage. I wonder if a movie will be shown or something. Sights are used to project film onto. I turn again to try and locate the projector, which should logically be at the other side of the room…there. Other people file loudly into the auditorium. Shikamaru, Neji and I find seats rather quickly. I think back to how long the badge lines were and wonder if there are enough seats for everyone. There are. Loud chatter fills the giant room as everyone finds seats.

People—MCs—stride onstage as the lights dim, then brighten and everyone falls silent. The MCs talk about things that happened at last year's convention and new things happening at this one. They brag about how we're all in the heart of downtown in this city. Japanese comic book authors (or are they artists? Both?) talk about works of theirs that are being sold in dealers' rooms. Japanese pop singers talk about CDs of theirs also being sold in the dealers' rooms. The authors and singers will be autographing merchandise and will be taking pictures with fans after this ceremony, they explain.

Animated music videos are shown. This is taking a really long time. I glance at Shikamaru and Neji. They are riveted by the videos. Another one comes on. I don't recognize the song, but I'm enthralled. As the video ends, I wonder what else will happen at this convention. Text on the sight welcomes us to this convention for the year 2009. It's the twelfth anniversary. The audience cheers louder and the lights come back on. Neji, Shikamaru and I are swept into the surge of people flowing towards the exit doors. "Do we go to the dealers' room first?" I attempt to holler over the large crowd.

"No," Shikamaru speaks loudly next to me. "We go in the afternoon." The crowd sorts itself into large groups, admiring brightly colored, draping costumes.

Several people, mostly women, break away from their groups and go out the large, heavy green lead doors. I notice the cigarette packs in their hands, protruding from their pockets or even in their mouths. The woman holding a pack in between her teeth is fumbling in her purse for a lighter. She looks kind of like Temari. "He's here?" Neji asks someone. I turn. A J-rock star Neji likes is signing posters in the next room. He's performing at a concert tonight. Two boys who can't be older than thirteen laugh and take a photo of someone—or maybe it's a group of people—a few yards away.

"How young are the youngest people here?" I wonder.

"Con babies."

"What?"

"Couples bring their three-year-olds here all the time," Shikamaru explains. Neji and I both groan. "Have you seen one yet?" Neji asks as I grumble, "You guys promised me there would be no crying babies." Shika answers us both in one breath. "No. The things we do, little kids often don't care about."

"Good," Neji and I speak as one.

"Hey, can I take your picture?"

"Awesome costumes!"

Shrill beeps of digital cameras accompany the cries of excited attendees. The line moves swiftly forward. "You don't have to go in if you don't want, Sasuke. I'll stay with you," Shikamaru gallantly offers. "You make it sound like they're swallowing ice in there or something." Neji smiles at that and disappears into the room. Shikamaru crosses his arms as he stands next to me. There is an endless parade of people all dressed in outfits I'm sure they wouldn't wear to work. Shikamaru and I watch them. Several of them randomly pause, turn towards each other and act out scenes from movies. After this happens a couple of times and I realize I don't recognize any of the movie scenes they're acting out, I ask.

"Hey Shika, what movie scenes are these?"

Languidly, he turns towards me. "Those aren't movie scenes. It's LARPing."

"Which is…"

"Live Action Role Playing. They're playing pretend, acting as the characters they're dressed as."

The word 'nerds' flashes through my mind. "Do you and Neji—Live Action Role Play?"

"No, it's boring."

I nod and ask about his costume.

"I'm a terrorist."

"You look like a mob boss." He's wearing a long black trench coat and a black fedora.

He chuckles. Neji appears silently at his elbow, a tightly rolled and bound poster clutched in his left hand. "That was fast." Neji nods and hides the poster in his jacket, which resembles a trench coat with the lower half shoddily cut off. "How many pockets are in that thing?" They are the type that zip securely shut. I like them. "A lot." The pockets line the inside of his jacket. There has to be at least twenty. "Are you dressed as a terrorist, too, Neji? Wait, are you two one of those couples that always has to dress the same?"

"Hey, hot stuff, how about we take a photo together and then some more?"

I whirl around, shouting phrases at the man that I would never say in front of my parents, as Shikamaru struggles to restrain me. The beeping to my left and subsequent flash of light don't really register because I'm paying attention to the man, whose only articulate phrases are "Holy shit, she's a guy?!" and "She fucking—" repeated a few times as he backs away and flees. I calm down. "What the fuck was that?" I huff. "Oh, I forgot to tell you," Neji has tucked his camera safely into one of his many jacket pockets. "Total strangers will come up to you and ask to take your picture if they like your costume."

"Is it normal for complete strangers to come on to one another so strongly here, too? Is this some giant meat market in disguise?"

"No, but it does happen."

"Itachi's going to like the photo."

I glare at them as they tease me for a few minutes. "Assholes." They both laugh.

Self-consciously, I touch the waist of the dress. It is pink acetate with ribbons twisted to look like little flowers and there are beads in the middle of the little flowers. I readjust the stiff, tight layer of acetate that serves as the first layer of the lower part of the dress. I only learned what the dress was made of upon reading the tag: the lining is acetate, the rest of the dress is rayon and polyester. The polyester and rayon mix is probably the soft pink lining at the bottom of the skirt. The acetate as the lower part makes the dress puff out. "I have to say I like the Gothic Lolita look on you, Sasuke," Neji chortles. His eyes settle on the soft, pink polyester straps that go down from my shoulders to mid-armpit. I grumble some more as we walk on, into another line. The dress zipper starts past my shoulder blades because of how the dress is cut, and the zipper goes down to my butt.

Three men—young men—friends who are jabbering animatedly, soon gather behind us, and people behind them. One of them has bright blue eyes and blond hair done up into thin spikes. I sometimes put the back of my hair into thin spikes, and I know how much styling glue it takes. Does he, too, lie upside down on the couch, feverishly waving the blow-dryer while worrying about being late to his monthly visit to his strict, cold parents? The young man next to him has one of those "Bowl Cuts" from the fifties. Does his mother fuss over him as she places the metal mixing bowl on his head? His eyes are big and brown. The third man has bright blue hair and fidgets, looking down so I can't see his eyes. He mutters something about a cigarette.

The blond guy has painted his fingernails a frosty purple and—I wonder if those scars are real. His jeans look like they were torn apart by pissed off working-breed dogs. The fishnet top, however, looks brand new. The guy with the bowl cut is wearing bondage pants and a crisp white polo shirt. His eyelids are dusted with neon-green shadow. The quiet cigarette smoker is wearing black eyeliner and army fatigues. They're talking about soccer.

"Shika, what's this line for?"

"We'll find out when we get to the front of it."

Wo-ow. "Is this frequent, standing in lines that you don't know—that lead to something you don't know about?"

"Uh huh."

It inches forward. "They didn't win." Shikamaru and I turn. Neji has interrupted the young men's conversation. "Yes they did," Bowl Cut responds. His hair is black and heavily gelled. "No, they didn't. You're thinking of the 2004 game."

"I told you," Blue Hair looks at Bowl Cut accusingly. Brown eyes. "Well—fine," he falters. "To be fair, England has won the cup before."

"Yeah."

"England got close to winning this year," I offer. Blond Spikes grins. "We watched all the games!"

"So did we," Shikamaru has uncrossed his arms.

"You were asleep during half of them and cloud-gazing instead of watching the others, except for the final five," Neji points out.

The strangers laugh. "Hey, since we'll be standing in this line for at least twenty more minutes, we may as well introduce ourselves," Blue Hair ventures. "I'm Yuguri."

"Shikamaru."

"Neji."

"I'm Lee," Bowl Cut smiles very, very widely and speaks almost as loudly as Blond Spikes.

"Sasuke."

"I'm Naruto," Blond Spikes looks mighty pleased with himself. Great, he probably has an ego.

"Hey, cutie." We all turn towards the feminine voice to see who she's talking to. She walks up behind Yuguri and places her arms around his chest. "When did you serve?"

"Uh…I'm in the Army Reserves…I'm serving."

"The correct answer to that, then, would be 'now.'" Neji points out. The laughter eases Yuguri's nervousness but does not disguise Lee's loud whisper. "Dude, she wants you. Make your move!" He looks at us, then at her. "You can uh, stay with us." She grins. "Well, thank you." I think the deep purple of her lips is face paint. I've never seen a shade of lipstick of that color—then again, I've only really seen various shades of red and pink. Hinata doesn't wear makeup a lot, but Sakura and Ino do. "You look good, Sasuke," Naruto checks me out. Neji's and Shikamaru's faces split into identical amused grins.

"I'm a guy," I inform him, mortified.

"I know," he drapes his arms around me and hugs me tightly, quickly.

"By the way, people do that at cons a lot."

I nod at Shikamaru, not really know what else to say in response to the information.

"Oh hey, is this your time? It's our first time staying all weekend. Except for Naruto. This is only his second con, but he stays all weekend."

"This is my first time, but Shika and Neji always go for the entire weekend."

"So you're staying," Naruto sounds almost relieved. "Cool."

The line turns out to be for a movie. Naruto sits next to me, I'm near Shikamaru and Neji, and on the other side are Lee, Yuguri and the woman with the purple face paint on her lips. "Hey, you might want to skip the movie," Lee suggests.

"Why?"

"You can't give or receive blow-jobs in this theater."

Before Yuguri's—date, I guess--can fully pout, Yuguri asks, "What about hand-jobs?" and looks shocked at his own words. "No! Just—stay still during the movie." Shikamaru and Neji hold hands. Yuguri and his date start necking five minutes into the movie. The anime feature goes on for two hours and it's boring. Yuguri dashes out for a cigarette. We ask his date her name. "Rosalind." Yuguri returns and they do go to his hotel room.

"What time is it?"

"Three."

"I'm hungry!" Naruto looks around, ostensibly for a restaurant. "Hey, you guys want to come with us?" He looks me right in the eye as he says this. "No, thanks," Neji looks suspiciously at Naruto. "Hey, well—do you want to meet up later?"

"Sure," I shrug. We depart.

"I'm glad to see you again!" Zrina calls to us. "The same?"

"Sure."

She wanders over to our table during her break. "I didn't know you liked soccer. Who's your team?" Shikamaru places the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth. "Iran."

"Are you Iranian?" Stupid question. "Yeah, Persian." She pauses. "Soccer is…really important, very serious in Iran." We nod. "Are your coworkers Persian, too?" She nods. "What language do you speak?" Neji continues. "I can kind of recognize it, but I don't know the name."

"Farsi. That's the name of the written form, too. It's related to Arabic."

Naruto runs eagerly up to me. "I found you! C'mon, Lee wants to go to this thing…" It's an origami class. Neither Naruto nor I are dexterous, but everyone else—Neji and Lee in particular—does well. I watch in amazement as Neji folds a crane and Lee folds an elephant.

The crowds in this Center are huge. People randomly break into song and there's more LARPing. "Yuguri's still with his date?"

"Yeah. Tonight we'll have to put up with his bragging…if she's not staying the night. That'll be worse."


	7. Chapter 7

I DO NOT OWN NOR MAKE PROFIT OFF OF MENTIONING OR MAKING SLY REFERENCES TO: Sailor Moon, Bo Burnham's song My Whole Family thinks I'm Gay, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Pocky, Tough Love, Sharpies, Linkin Park, Dep 7 hair gel, and I'm sorry for making people lose the game. Warnings for allusions of ice placed near or in the genitals during sex.

Ordinarily, I'd wonder if the people running around were high on crack, but I understand their excitement. We're in the Dealers' Room. Well, Dealers' Room 1. Dealers' Room 2 is for the under-18 crowd. Dealers' Room 3 is oriented towards kids aged three to ten. Everyone under eighteen must have a parent or guardian with then at all times…I wanted to walk to all the dealers' rooms over the course of the con, but seeing the signs—oh, this book looks interesting. I look at the price and quickly put the book back down on the table. I saw the door signs for the other dealers' rooms and didn't feel like going into a room of screaming children or howling teenagers. So, I walked into a roomful of adults. They're very loud. Shikamaru and Neji are deciding whether to buy something that's apparently on the floor. They're talking with the table dealer (well, what else are the vendors called? …oh. Dealers) about the price. Two hundred and thirty-four dollars. My friends are saying no and the jittery man is trying to haggle. He doesn't know how stubborn they are. Ten minutes later, his shoulders slump. I walk to another table.

"Well, that dealer's morning isn't starting out too well for him," someone chuckles.

"Morning, what the fuck are you talking about."

"It's ten AM…it's morning."

"The dealers are assholes. Most of them."

Wigs and garish makeup. That seems to be a theme. I wonder if the makeup I did yesterday was convincing. I've watched Hinata put on makeup, and I was just doing what I've seen her do. That guy thought I was a girl, so it must've been okay.

Last night, the guys and I hung out with Lee and Naruto. They're actually pretty cool. Turns out Naruto moved here three years ago and met Lee in their freshman year. We're all seniors in college, all around twenty years old. Naruto and I are the youngest. Lee is twenty and he says Yuguri is too. Shikamaru and Neji are both twenty-one. We watched a soccer game on the hotel TV in Lee's and Naruto's room. Yuguri was MIA, according to Lee. Nobody really cared. We talked during the commercials. Lee's studying art and child psychology—he'll graduate with a double major and become an elementary-school art teacher. Yuguri's majoring in English and trying to figure out a career. Shikamaru smiled at that. He's lazy and good-natured about it. Still doesn't know what he'll do with his pending genius-math degree, but he's been talking lately of becoming a quantitative analyst. I have no idea what that is and he's too lazy to tell me. Neji says it's applying very advanced mathematics to money. Stochastic calculus. Naruto still can't pronounce the phrase. My understanding is that Shikamaru's future job might be similar to a stockbroker or something. Neji's studying nuclear physics and he's going to try and harness molecules all day…being a nuclear physicist sounds boring and highly dangerous at the same time. Not something I'd want to do.

When I was still in my first two years of college, I changed my mind about what to study three times. Finally, I decided to just focus on and make a career out of the third major I reached: biochemical engineer. I want to go into the industrial biotechnology sector and work with natural fuels. I have to get a Master's degree before I can really get a job, but I've done internships. Maybe that will help.

Like Kiba and Lee, Naruto's studying psychology. Whereas Kiba is studying animal psychology and Lee child psychology for their careers, Naruto is studying psychology so he can become a rehabilitation specialist. He's going to work at the state mental hospital helping people, who aren't taking their meds, to get better. Lee, Naruto and Yuguri go to a different university than my friends and I.

There is a sudden weight on my back and an obnoxiously loud voice in my ear. "WHAT are we looking at here?" Naruto has jumped on my back, placing his hands heavily on my shoulders. I startle in surprise. "Get off me."

"Well, you're no fun. And to think, we got so close last night." His wide, mischievous grin encourages my scowl. "You know, if your girlfriend tells you to back off, you should." Scratchy, high-pitched nasal voice. Temari—she can't be here. No, it's not her. A woman dressed as a character from Sailor Moon—as Sailor Mercury, I think—tries to sneer at Naruto. It looks like she's pouting. "I'm a guy." Click, beep, flash. "Then leave your boyfriend alone, mister," she addresses him. "I'm not gay!" My voice is louder than intended.

She looks me up and down. Yesterday, my lipstick was dark red. I had some trouble putting it on. I was terrified of taking an eye out or something when I was handling the black liquid eyeliner, but I did okay. Today, I was a little more confident but no less petulant. After tomorrow, I'll never have to do this again. My lipstick is sort of dark pink today, but the eyeliner is the same. I had no idea that this type of shirt would be so smooth but constricting. I feel like it's going to slip up or down or something, ironically. I've never worn a skirt before, either. It's a short black…thing. Walking around in it feels odd because it's, well, slippery. It's a ticklish sensation. I didn't realize that the skirt was transparent until Neji remarked he was glad I was wearing boxers. The fishnet stockings are something I'm actually used to wearing underneath the boxers—I wear them to Rocky Horror all the time. I wore the stockings under my boxers yesterday too.

The woman's balance in her stilettos is impeccable. I've had help with the planning of all three costumes and the makeup. The makeup is the same for all three days. Yesterday, I wore ankle-length black boots that had only quarter-inch heels. I can walk in those. I can run in those. Damn it, I wear them to Rocky Horror all the time. According to people who have more experience than I do, the clunky death wishes on my feet go wonderfully with my outfit. Costume. I call them clunky death wishes because I can hardly walk in them and am convinced I'll fall and break my neck. Officially, they're platform high heels. These ones are studded with silver rhinestones and actually have pretty thick heels. The front parts are really short. So the shoes aren't as bad as they could be. I still don't like them.

"The song must be counterproductive." She walks away as I curse her family. Oh, Itachi had better have those gift cards waiting…After the guys stop teasing me, Lee and Naruto ask about my costume—why am I cross-dressing? Naruto's eyes are electric blue. Light blue, ice blue, piercing blue, whatever. Startling when one first sees them. "He's doing a study on psychology and gender," Neji says. I turn and look at him, wondering why he's lying. "So he's challenging people's expectations of gender," Yuguri says. "Cool." Clunk, scrape. "Damn it, I can't walk in these!"

"You have to lift up your feet, Sasuke. Here, I'll—"

I fall forward, instinctively putting my hands out to break my fall. At the same time, Rosalind jumps away and Naruto moves to catch me. We crash to the floor. He grunts in pain as I quickly jump off of him. "You okay?" Shikamaru asks him as he helps me up. "I'm fine." He puts his arm around my waist and I immediately stiffen at the contact. "Relax. I'm helping you walk. We can pretend my character is just escorting yours." Less than two seconds ago, he fell to the floor with a hundred and seventy pounds on top of him. Now he's grinning like it didn't even happen. "Aw, who's the escort?" Yugri asks, referring to the fact that my character looks like a hooker. As the laughter dies down, Rosalind says, "Now the trick is to just fall backward when you fall, Sasuke."

Naruto really likes something called Pocky. He buys several boxes of the chocolate kind. "What do you mean, you've never tried it? Really, Sasuke?"

"I haven't. I don't like sweets."

Rosalind buys Yuguri a T-shirt with a racy slogan on it.

"C'mon. Just try one."

"Will it get you to shut up?"

"Yeah, for about two seconds." Naruto makes a rude hand signal at Neji. "Too bad, Naruto, he's already spoken for." Naruto blushes furiously and immediately shouts at Shikamaru, who looks more bored with every insult directed at him.

"Hey, shut up."

"Yeah, well—Rosalind, give me back the Pocky! Sasuke has to eat one!"

Reluctantly, she does. We walk around the dealers' room for awhile more.

"Oh hey, people can spar in here." Rosalind stops to read the sign on one of the many doors as we walk through the Center. The dealers' room was really loud and crowded. There were so many cool things in there. I'll go back later tonight. Lee is shouting something about competing, something about strength and youth. He's even more excitable than Naruto. Mats in the room cover the floor. A large window offers a view of the street. We're on the second level of the Center, so the window looks into the street. The sun is beginning to dip low.

Naruto shoves a Pocky at me. It resembles a chocolate-covered straight pretzel. American chocolate has wax in it. I look at Naruto. Out of the group, he's my favorite, for lack of better phrasing. He's pretty cool to hang around, that's it. I'm surprised about it. Our temperaments, goals in life, even hair color and eye color are completely different. Turns out the texture of our hands is, too. His are rough and have leftover calluses on them. I plan on eating this thing as fast as possible. I rake the chocolate with my teeth. Naruto leers at me and I finish the sweet quickly. "I'm done."

"How'd it taste?" The leer is gone, replaced by his usual wide grin.

"Horrible."

Whoever is competing with Lee flips him over and slams him down hard on the mat. Naruto frowns. Yuguri tells Rosalind he's going for a cigarette. She nods. "I'll stay here."

"That's the first time they've been separated since meeting one another." Naruto's voice is so loud. He puts his arm around my waist again. "C'mon. Let's get out of here." Short attention span. Lee's been fighting for twenty minutes. Persistent. Loud. Clunk-clunk. We trail Yuguri. He offers us cigarettes. I shake my head no. "I don't smoke," Naruto informs him haughtily. Yuguri lights a cigarette as the heavy door shuts behind him.

My intestines feel like they're twisting and sinking down to my feet, as always happens when I'm very nervous. What the hell. Why would I be nervous around Naruto? I like him. I want his number or e-mail so we can stay friends after this. "So when did you move here? You were saying something about that last night." I hope my voice doesn't crack. Why am I so nervous? His arm is still around my waist. I'm standing up in the shoes. I have some semblance of balance. "Three years ago. I'm originally from—"

"Oh, that's not too many states away from here." I have some semblance of balance but my legs are going to give out. Why? It's not like I'm getting blown or anything. Hinata absolutely refuses. I blink. Where did THAT come from? "Why'd you move?"

The last time I got a blow-job, I was seventeen and we went into the woods behind my high school. She was the new girl and wanted to show the others she was better than them; that she alone could get me to consent to a sex act. There were no strings attached, she promised me, so I agreed. The other girls hated her from then on. "This city has a much bigger queer scene than my old city." He rubs the back of his neck with one hand and his other slides to the small of my back. I'm surprised by his admission and hold still, hoping he didn't realize what he was doing or something. He looks at me again. Those scars are real. "Does it bother you?"

"No." Your touch does, I think sourly. "Some of my closest friends are—are—"

"Gay."

"Yeah. Shika and Neji have been together for two years."

"Cool."

"How'd you get your scars?"

He shrugs. "With a knife."

Oh, great. "Are you a self-injurer?" I can't keep the disdain from my voice.

"No." I've never met someone who's amused by that question. "I changed schools a lot. My dad is in the military. Was. He recently got out. Anyway, the knowledge I'm gay kept spreading. It made me so different from everybody else. I figured I'd give myself scars so that at the next school, they'd ask about my scars and not who I slept with."

"You moron."

He scowls. "So of course Kakashi decides not to be in the military anymore, and I'm at the same school, just with deep scars on my face…Iruka lectured me for a long time and grounded me for a month."

"You have two dads?"

He stares at me for a few seconds before making the connection. ""Oh! Yeah. They're pretty untraditional. I mean, we're Buddhist and speak English pretty rarely and put our shoes by the door, but that's it. What about your family?"

"We're traditional. My brother gets all the attention except the pressure to breed. That falls on me." I grimace.

"They let him stay in the house despite his sexuality? So many of my friends have gotten kicked out!"

"They'd never kick either of us out. They just let their disapproval be known, over Itachi's boyfriend and my girlfriend, on a very regular basis."

He frowns. "Is it serious?"

"Wh—oh." I hesitate.

He has a crush on me. It's been two days. Is he the type to throw a tantrum upon being rejected? Will he use our developing friendship as a weapon? Or will he just holler at me? Is it serious? I've never really thought about what would happen if Hinata and I broke up. She'd take it a lot harder than I would. My intestines never felt like they were twisting and dropping around her. I was never nervous that my voice would crack. It was she who blushed and stammered. I kissed her when I finally felt like it. Then, we started dating. I was happy when she finally let me sleep with her. Neither of us were virgins. "It's…not like I want to spend the rest of my life with her," I admit, looking at Naruto's feet. His sneakers are beginning to wear out. "And there's stuff missing, so…no, it's not serious." There's stuff missing. That frequently leads to cheating. Cold dread seeps through my body as my mind starts spazzing. My intestines never twisted and I never worried about my voice cracking…Naruto. Oh, no. No-no-no-this can't—"Sasuke?"

Once, during foreplay, Hinata ran her fingers gently down the middle of my spine to the base of it. Goose flesh broke along my skin and even parts of my chest, but I was very focused on my subsequent erection. I don't fall backward or forward, really. My knees can't exactly support me with all my nervousness. I just fall. Naruto catches me and in the process of not letting me hit the ground, one hand presses hard against my abs. The other zooms up my shirt, from the base of my spine to the middle of it. I wish he had just let me fall and crack my head on the floor. My eyes are closed and my face is hot with embarrassment. It doesn't matter what direction the hand goes; my brain fires signals when my spine is touched. And I have a crush on Naruto.

"Sasuke?"

No. If I open my eyes or even move, I will go Quasimodo-ringing-in-the-bells, psychotic-break bat-shit insane. You can thank Sakura for introducing me to that particular expression. She says she got it from a TV show. I rarely use the expression. Now, it's warranted. "Sasuke!" Naruto shakes me roughly. "Are you okay, dude? Did you stop breathing? I can give you CPR—" My eyes fly open. Naruto relaxes. "You had me worried there. C'mon, let's get you standing. Did you faint? Hey, was it 'cause you're—"

"Shut up." My voice is a crackly whisper as I stand. He does. "I didn't faint," I croak. I'm blushing, I have a very intense erection and I feel like I'm about to vomit. Does he notice? How can he not notice?!

He brushes a lock of hair out of my face. My face tingles with the touch of his fingers. I have absolutely no idea what to do. He grabs my hand and presses it hard against his scars. They're rough, just like his hands. The scars are real. He used a knife. As he did shortly after we met, he drapes his arms around me. There's no way he can't not know. Ooh, triple negative. "Tell me if you don't want this," he whispers huskily in my ear. "We can't—we can't do this in public." Good going, Sasuke. He pushes the door to the bathroom open. It's huge and well-lit. My back thuds against the wall.

His lips are chapped. He bites his lip a lot. I can feel the indents. My breathing is harsh. I focus on that instead of the fact that I'm kissing a guy and cheating on my girlfriend. I'm kissing a friend of mine. I'm kissing a guy who uses a lot of tongue. I can't breathe. He places a hand on the back of my head and keeps kissing me. We break apart and with his other hand, he takes off my shirt. He uses both hands to take off his own shirt. I catch my breath. His chest is broad and flat. He obviously spends a lot of time at the gym. He has a tattoo of a dark blue spiral from his navel down to…beneath his jeans. Scars and a tattoo. His skin is so warm.

Fuck this, I'm past the point of no return. I kiss him roughly. I didn't go Quasimodo-ringing-in-the-bells, psychotic-break bat-shit insane after all. I'm doing something I want to do over and over again. He starts sucking on my neck, occasionally biting it. I know how to make love bites go away. Do I want this one to? It might be the only validation I have of this. My breathing is so loud. I'm glad the bathroom is completely empty. He kisses me again. I move my hands over his chest as he runs his hands down my back. When I run my fingers tentatively over the top of his tattoo, he calmly hoists my calf over his lower back horizontally and grinds into me. My chest heaves as I pant heavily, loudly. I'm sweating. Naruto is making me sweat. I'm making him sweat. He kisses my throat and I jolt. He returns to my mouth and grinds into me insistently. With one hand, he works to hike my skirt—I'm wearing a skirt, I'm practically having sex with a guy and he's wearing jeans—up to my waist. His other hand is touching my boxers.

"Stop." He immediately does, backing away. "Don't—Naruto! Kiss me again. You have a job to finish!" Before I can inwardly grouse about how that sounded or indulge in the realization that this guy doesn't need to be told twice, my calf is once again over his back and he's…doing it…again.

People must be able to hear us out in the hallway now. Am I—am I really trying to say his name? No, no, it's—well, at least I'm groaning it instead of whining. I feel like my lungs are going to explode and my heart is going to crack my ribcage. Light-headed. Hot. Sweaty. He digs his fingernails hard into my shoulder blades and roughly down my back. My legs do give out as I come, and I really do whisper his name. His knees buckle under my weight. I wonder if he came, too. That felt…I can't even describe it.

"God," I mumble, laying down. The floor is cold. I'm lying down on a bathroom floor! "A few seconds ago, you were calling me Naruto, but God's fine too." I groan and roll over, burying my face in his neck. It's normal to want to be close to people after sex, right? Was th—yes. His arms are around me. He's holding me. How sentimental, the sarcastic remark rings in my head. "Naruto?"

"Huh."

"Did—anything happen for you?" Great. I come and immediately turn into a newly not-virgin. Oh, I don't want to think about the parallels.

"Yes, Sasuke, you're very good. Amazing for a first-timer."

I bury my face in my arms. Even with my weight on top of him, he breathes evenly. "Screw you."

"I'd love to." He runs a hand through my hair.

"Stop being so sentimental."

"Ooh, touchy."

I stand shakily up. He stands up smoothly. "We should go back." He looks at me, then down at my—skirt. "With you looking like that?" I look down. There is a slight semen stain that soaked through onto the front. Most of it collected on my boxers… "Wipe it up with your shirt. It's white. Nobody'll notice." I don't know what else to do. "It's still on the skirt," I notice and quickly turn the skirt around. "You just made things worse for yourself." I blush and turn the skirt sideways. "Fuck." A moment's hesitation. "Honestly, this is the least of my worries. Let's just go find the others."

They're still in the sparring room. Naruto's holding my hand. I'm too spazzed (and tired. Weird combination) to protest. Shikamaru and Neji are the only ones who notice. Neither of them says anything. It's getting late. The sun has set. The sparring has finished. Did all that really happen? We walk out of the room and down the hall. Naruto's grip is strong. Lee glances at my neck. Rosalind can't stop staring. It did.

I don't really know what going Quasimodo-ringing-in-the-bells, psychotic-break batshit insane is supposed to look like. I wasn't there with Sakura when she watched the TV show episode containing the phrase. I think I know what it feels like, though. I'm not tired anymore, to say the least.

It's cold and growing dark outside. I shoot across the street, scaring at least five drivers. So, the light was green and I crossed—ran—on red. So, what? "Zrina!" She jumps, startled. "Are you okay?" I'm dimly aware of Neji hissing, "What the fuck is wrong with you?" and Shikamaru asking me exactly what happened. "I need a spoon and a bag of ice." I don't recognize my own voice. She disappears. Shikamaru is looking at me expectantly. How odd. Neji is glaring at me. Not so odd.

"I—Naruto—"

"Oh." They both understand before I continue whatever I was going to babble. I thank Zrina and sit down with the spoon and ice. She looks warily at me. "I'd ask if you were cooking meth, but you asked for ice…and you don't seem to have a lighter."

"I'm not cooking meth," I assure her, holding the spoon at first against the bag and then in the bag for a few seconds. Gingerly, I press it against my neck. I flinch. Shikamaru smiles. "Dipshit," I whisper. He laughs. I repeat the bag-spoon-neck process five more times, then hand Zrina the spoon back. "Sasuke, um…you have deep red scratch marks on your back. When you get back to your hotel, you should put the water from the ice on your back."

"You must've had a good time," Shikamaru drops ice on my back. I grunt in pain. "Put the ice in your beers, not on my back anymore! Leave the marks there!" Neji takes the bag and goes out the door. I sit up. The tube top lays innocently on the bed near me. The TV mumbles. Nobody's watching it anymore. I turn it off and set the remote on the bedside table. "Sasuke." Shikamaru is lying calmly on his back, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. "I don't want to talk about it, Shika." He rolls over. "Does that mean it wasn't consensual?" Neji opens the door. "I consented to everything. That has nothing to do with anything. What'd you do with the ice, Neji?"

"Gave it to Yuguri and Rosalind."

"And I thought I had kinky sex."

"That seems like it would be really painful, to have ice placed in the vagina."

"I don't need those mental images."

I rifle through my backpack.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for my tennis shoes." They're there.

"Why?"

"So I'm ready for tomorrow."

They look at each other. "You're worried about your shoes? Your new name is Quasimodo." I mumble something that Temari wouldn't want Hatsumomo to hear as a loud, insistent knocking meets my ears. "Who the fuck is that?" I grouse, having been interrupted from insulting Neji. "Probably Naruto, here to whisk you away for an evening escape," is his sarcastic response. I look at the clock. "You—"

"Hey, is Sasuke here?" Naruto's loud voice is filled with anxiety. I feel like stomping on something. "Yeah, he's right here." Preferably Neji's instep.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"The dealers' room is still open for another two hours. You said you wanted to go back." Alone. Had I left such an important word out? We're both still in costume. If I don't go now, I'll have to wait for next year. If I go next year. As I walk out the door with Naruto, who is more worried than I am about my balance, Neji tells us to be back before midnight and to be safe. I shut the door heavily.

"Why is he calling you Quasimodo?"

"It's short for Quasimodo-ringing-in-the-bells, psychotic-break batshit insane."

Naruto stops walking and I don't realize it at first. "Sasuke." Oh. I stop. "Why are you insane?"

"I'm not. I'm just dealing with…this is weird."

His arm is around my waist again, and he's grinning like normal. "So don't think about it."

"I can walk in these, Naruto. I can run in them, too."

"Good for you."

"You don't need to have your arm around my waist," I elaborate.

"I want to."

The dealers' room is just as crowded as it was this afternoon. Quite a few more people are drunk or acting so, however. I leaf through a few comic books and pick up another. There are two scowling men on the cover, and the dealer has placed a red sticker near the title. She laughs as I open the book. It's gay pornography. I drop it immediately. "The red sticker means it's porn," she wheezes in between gales of laughter. I glare at her and shuffle to another table. Naruto follows close behind. "Hey—Naruto—before I forget." He looks over at me, setting down the decal he'd picked up. "I want your phone number and e-mail." I wonder if he's ever hurt himself grinning so widely. He produces a Sharpie from one of the many pockets lining the outside of his jeans. There is the sound behind me of paper being quickly torn. The dealer shrugs nonchalantly, trying to hide her grin behind her sleeve. She's been watching this entire time.

I snatch the thin, worn sheet from her grasp and shove it at Naruto. She ripped the paper from an old, worn spiral-bound notebook. She shoves it into a handbag that lays open at her feet. "You never saw that," she announces, springing back up. You're totally not on meth, my mind whispers sarcastically to her. "Here." He's not only written his cell phone number and e-mail, but his current home address and landline. I fold the paper and wonder exactly where to put it. Finally, I grab the hem of my shirt and fold inwardly up to my pecs. It stays folded. I unfold it, stuff the note onto the shirt and re-fold the shirt. Now I REALLY look like a slut. The dealer is practically drooling. Naruto asks her if she'll be here next year. She nods, still ogling me. "See you then."

"I hope so!" she grins and makes the victory sign with her hand.

"I'll buy you a new notebook next year," Naruto informs her. "I'd much rather have a DVD." Wench. Naruto laughs as I read the T-shirts.

"Does that one come in large?"

"Yeah."

I have no idea what it says. I just feel like buying something since Shikamaru and Neji said it's rare to walk out of a con empty-handed. Cash and the shirt change hands. This was an impulse purchase. Hopefully, I won't regret it.

"It's freezing," I hiss, slipping the babydoll shirt over my head. Naruto tries not to laugh. We cross at a green light. When he starts running his hand over the lower part of my spine, I try to break his hand. We stop outside his room. "Naruto, you need to—"

"Talk to me inside," he interrupts, opening the door and ushering me inside. It's late. Probably not the best time to tell him in a quiet hotel hallway. He'd wake people up. Lee is sleeping on the bed near the window. "He'd sleep through a minor earthquake," Naruto jokes. I sit on the edge of Naruto's bed. Naruto sits in the middle. I'm surprised that he can stay quiet and completely still for longer than five seconds.

"Naruto." What? 'Naruto, you make me feel gay. Naruto, you make me feel all warm and stupid. You made me sweat. You're really cool. I'd like to play soccer with you sometime. You grin too widely. I'm going to miss you after this. You bastard, you made me come in my boxers and on the skirt when we dry-fucked. I won't be able to sleep well tonight. I'd masturbate to make myself sleep but I'm supposed to think of Hinata when I do. I have a crush on you, I think. I like the feeling of your scars underneath my hands. I don't know what I am or who to talk to about it. Itachi. Yes. Naruto, you confuse me, you piss me off, and make me think about sex. You make me smile. I can't stand you sometimes but I can't stand to be away from you. You're making me emo.'

"Naruto, stop biting your nails," I burst out. He pulls his hand away from his mouth. "Sorry, I'm—"

"Nervous," we say at the same time.

"I don't do this all the time."

"Yes, you do," I notice, looking at the skin around his fingernails. He keeps his fingernails sharp but chews on either side of them. I've never seen that before.

"I don't dry-fuck guys who I know have girlfriends. Especially if they've been together awhile." Is that supposed to make me feel better? "So what does that make me?" Why do I even care? Because he makes me feel. This guy makes me feel. "I don't know. What do you want it to?" He rubs a hand on the back of his neck and looks past me. "I'm going back home tomorrow to something I don't like very much and someone who has always felt more strongly for me than vice versa." I exhale heavily. This is so weird.

"I really want to stay friends."

"Friends."

"Damn it, Naruto, I'd rather have you in my condo than some of the people who are there. I think about having—doing stuff to you—and I wish we had more time than this. I can't shake the feeling that after this, I'll never see you again."

He removes the babydoll T-shirt I'm wearing and kisses me. I let him. "Tell me when to stop." His breath is hot against my ear. I nod. "You—aah—asshole, I just put ice on that to—make it go away." I was sad a few seconds earlier. Now, it's like he still has me against the wall. He goes back to the same spot on my neck. I give up. Whatever happens, happens. I just want to have tonight with him. I'm thinking sentimental thoughts. I give up.

I slowly remove the tube top, careful to keep the piece of paper with his contact information inside. I pull his shirt off from him somewhat clumsily. I've never done anything with a guy. Before today, anyway. The bedcovers are cool and almost…gritty or something underneath my back. Naruto kisses my throat and moves slowly down to my chest. I remember being self-conscious when I was sixteen about having such a narrow, hairless chest, then so proud at seventeen when a few hairs sprouted and I began working out. My body hasn't changed much since then. Textured and cheap. The hotel bedcovers are textured and cheap. I move against the bedcovers and close my eyes tightly. No. Bad idea. I open them and look down. Naruto pauses and looks up at me.

He asks permission. I consent, breathing shakily. He pulls off the skirt, my boxers and the fishnet, carefully and one after the other. My heart is beating so fast. I'm breathing too loudly, too heavily, too erratically. Can't he act the least bit nervous in sympathy? No. I'd get hurt. I've done this before, but with him it's like I'm that type of virgin all over again. He's obviously done this a lot. Maybe not. He's very good at this. Why can't my mind just shut up?

Hot. Wet. I'm going to have fingerprint bruises. I hope they stay. They're validation. A different type of movement. Then faster. My body arches and falls heavily. Faster. There's…more of him. Slow down maybe, I want this to last longer. A muffled groan buzzes in my mouth as I grip locks of his hair tightly with one hand. The other grasps a bedpost. "Slower," I manage. "Slow—I want this to last longer. It's—" Our eyes meet as he sulkily over-obliges. "Not that much. I just—" The rest of whatever I was going to say disappears and I'm sure people in other rooms can hear, not to mention Lee will wake up. As blood pounds in my ears, I hear Lee snore heavily. Naruto smiles. Okay. My hand shifts in his hair and spots dance in my vision as my head collides with the headboard. I grunt in pain. He's undeterred.

He's gay, he's gay, there's no way he could have taken all of that semen. He didn't. Some seeps out. He wipes it with his shirt. When I catch my breath and tell him I should go back, he goes to work again on the hickey. I don't get a full erection. I'm too tired. I'm too tired to think thoroughly about what happened or comment on the semen stain on his shirt as we dress ten minutes later. His arm is around me, supporting me again. I lean into it and knock on the door. Neji opens it, bare-chested and unquestioning as Naruto follows closely behind me. Shikamaru barely looks over at us. Neji always sleeps wearing an old soccer jersey and Shika—oh. Neji smirks at the look on my face. "Don't worry, we just finished."

I mumble something as I disrobe and crawl into my bed. Naruto follows me.

I don't realize how powerful it feels for him to sleep with his arms around me until I wake up beside him. He wakes up as I stretch silently and smiles lazily, stretching his arms and legs out as well. I want to say something, but I stay silent. "Nice, Sasuke," he chuckles as I buckle the platform shoes. "What, it's just jeans and a Linkin Park T-shirt."

"And shoes women usually wear."

"I know."

Neji hands me the bottle of Dep 7 Strong Hold orange styling hair gel and the brown hair dryer.

I comb my hair and sit upside down on the bed, waving the hair dryer. "Why'd you braid your hair, Neji?"

"I wanted to keep Sasuke company."

"I'm going to break your jaw when I'm done with my hair."

"Sure thing, princess. Ow! Damn you, Naruto."

"How sweet. Naruto defending Sasuke."

"Shika—"

"Hey, are you going to tell Hinata?"

"Yeah, why do you think I left the second hickey on my neck?"

"What a slutty way to go about it."

"Would it be better if Naruto blew me in front of Sakura? That woman can't keep her mouth shut."

"Who's Sakura?" Naruto wants to know.

"Do you have the hotel key, Shika?" Neji asks. "Yeah." Lee and Yuguri catch up with us. "Rosalind's with her original group."

"Of course, that's the first thing out of his mouth."

"You suffering separation anxiety?"

"No," he insists. "No, he just misses the sex already."

"Well, I—"

"No, Yuguri, don't. You'll just make it worse for yourself," Shikamaru chuckles.

"Who's Sakura?" Naruto insists. "A friend of ours."

"Oh."

"What?" Yuguri wants to know.

"Nothing."

"I'm already having post-con letdown."

"No, don't say that! It'll spread like a virus!"

"Fuck it, I lost the game."

"I lost the game!" the rest of us howl. "Damn you, Rosalind."

There's an hour till closing ceremonies and we decide to pool our money to get breakfast at the local 24-hour diner. The coffee tastes good and is comforting. My mind is preoccupied as I eat the food, so much so that I can't really taste it. I hate to seem so trite, but Hinata's heart will be broken in a few hours. How will the others react? Have I missed anything over the weekend? The soccer game, but I watched that here. I look over at Naruto. He has good table manners. He talks loud and seems to be enjoying his food. The waitress refills my coffee cup three times over the course of the meal. I finish my breakfast slowly. We all eat slowly. We're trying to prolong this. We might not see each other after today.

The crowd that gathers in the auditorium for the closing ceremony seems even bigger, but much quieter. Everyone seems subdued, sad. Maybe I'm just projecting. "Okay," one of the MCs booms into the microphone. "There was a technical glitch in one of the videos on opening day and it's been fixed. We'll be playing videos than won awards first—" Cheering. "—and announce the winners, then we get to pretend that this is opening ceremonies, just backwards." More cheering, some laughter. Behind me are rowdy drunks that can't shut up, probably the same ones as the first day. Naruto and his group went with Shikamaru, Neji and I to watch some of the animated music videos yesterday. Some of them were really funny. Others were stupid or trite romances. The lights dim as the MC announces the first winner. A group of guys stands up, thanking the audience for bragging rights. Laughter. The video plays. They got third place. The videos aren't categorized; the top three winners are simply announced at closing ceremonies. Neji told me this as we cast our votes. Second place goes to a pretty girl in a wheelchair whose grin reveals braces. Her video gets a lot of laughter and catcalls. I voted for it. When first place is announced, a woman in a tight black shirt and stained jeans jumps up, her long pink hair whipping over her shoulders. She points at the MC and screams at him about how much she loves him and the audience. Shikamaru and Neji both voted for this video. The lights come back on.

More speeches. More awards. More laughter and cheers. Some bad jokes and sarcastic laughter. Pre-registration is now open for next year, the MCs say, so go sign up. Next year will rock just like this year did, they gloat. They thank everyone for attending. "We hope to see all of you here next year!" Cheering. The drunks behind me are crying. Lee doesn't drink and he's crying. The MCs leave the stage.

Just like that, it's over. "This weekend went really fast," a woman ahead of us in the surging sea of people remarks. Rosalind is blubbering about how she'll never see Yuguri again and the sex is so great and he's such a nice guy and serves in the military and so sexy and waah. Yuguri holds her tightly, closing his eyes and burying his nose in her hair. "We could run away and get married," he speaks suddenly. Shikamaru and I roll our eyes as Naruto and Lee start shouting, both about different things. Neji is laughing. Rosalind takes a hiccup breath. "Or we could just move in together," Yuguri suggests. "I like that idea." I'm surprised any of us can hear her whispering.

The streets are still loud. The drivers still holler as we cross the street. Something has changed. Me. I groan inwardly. Two sexual acts with a guy and I've turned all emotional. Clunk, clunk scrape clunk. "Hey baby, we could listen to some Linkin Park together and—"

"You motherfucker, stay the fuck away from my girlfriend!" Naruto hollers. Click, beep, flash. I punch Naruto as Neji puts his camera away. "Don't say that," I hiss. "I'm a guy." We go into our rooms and gather our stuff. Check-out is quick. "Hey Naruto."

I catch up to him. What do I say? The suitcases are heavy in my arms. I put them, as well as the backpack, on the floor. He watches me. I want to do something, say something. I want to see him again. A lot. Well, my new nickname is Quasimodo (ringing-in-the-bells, psychotic-break batshit insane), I rationalize as I lean forward and kiss him. He puts his arms around me and gets close, putting his tongue in my mouth. He's gay…

I blush as we separate. "Call me, Sasuke. Promise you'll call me."

"If we—get—to do this again," I mumble, then speak louder, picking up my stuff. "I'll call you, Naruto." He turns and walks quickly away, getting into the passenger side of Lee's car. Yuguri sulks in the back. Shikamaru, Neji and I run for the bus and hastily pay as we enter. It's over.


	8. Chapter 8

In case anyone was wondering, the sex act between Naruto and Sasuke in Naruto's hotel room was a blowjob. A homophobic slur is used in this chapter, and the homophobic views of a particular character are expressed.

Temari's shrieking pierces my ears. Kiba cuddles Akamaru. Has he been crying? I remember two months ago; a howling message in my voicemail. "Akamaru's missing, Sasuke. I let him out, and it's been four hours. He's deaf, we can't call out to him, he can't hear." He was crying as we canvassed the neighborhood. The dog is pretty much a surrogate child for Kiba. We found him pretty quickly after I came home. Kiba's had him on a short leash since then, literally. "Hey. He go missing again?"

"Yeah, he escaped through the neighbor's loose fence planks. He's fine now. I nailed the gate shut." I nod and clap Kiba on the shoulder, then pat the two-year-old dog on the head. Shikamaru and Neji follow me inside.

Temari screeches at Hinata and the baby cries. Hinata looks really scared. "Stop screeching at my girlfriend, you miserable cocksucking bitch," I thunder. She does and glowers at me. "I never wanted you here. You're an irresponsible, stupid, trashy slut whose only motive for having babies is to get the welfare check and food stamps because you flunked out of high school and can't get a job. You're manipulative, greedy, conceited, you never say 'thank you' and you treat Shino like shit. His parents don't like you, no one here likes you and we all seriously doubt the paternity of your baby. I can't stand you! Get the fuck out of my condo and take your demon spawn, your misguided boyfriend and your shit with you!" She's so stunned that someone finally stood up to her, that she gathers her things immediately and without saying a word. Ino and Sakura watch her to make sure she doesn't steal anything. I calm Hinata down and she goes to call her parents after staring at the hickey on my neck.

I toss all my clothes into the wash and start it. After putting the suitcases and backpack away, I look at the dress on my bed. "Hey Sakura?" I call. She marches into the doorway, grumbling about Temari. "Neji's watching her with Ino. Make this quick."

"I put the clothes in the wash except for the dress." I point to it.

"Oh. I'll take it. Thanks, Sasuke."

"Yeah. It said it was dry-clean only. I'll give you the rest of the clothes once they're dry."

"How was—where'd you go, anyway?"

"We went to a convention. It was so much fun."

"Oh, that's good." She picks up the dress. "Ino's probably ready to kill that bitch. Thanks for cussing her out and kicking her out. You'll all be able to sleep well again."

I nod as she exits my bedroom.

A truck rumbles outside. Shino barges into my bedroom. "What the fuck, Sasuke. Why is my girlfriend hollering as strange people are loading our things onto a moving truck?"

I tell him. He turns pale. "You can't do this."

"Remember that thing you signed awhile back when you first moved here about asking al of us if a romantic partner could move in before telling them it was okay?" I know he does. He nods. "And the penalty was that if you went and broke the rule and had anyone move in, you'd both get kicked out?" More slow nodding. "This is my property, Shino. If you, Temari and her spawn don't leave as soon as your belongings are loaded, I'll—"

"I get it."

Now there's only four people. No baby. "Things should be easier now," Sakura looks happier than I've seen her in a long time. "Hey, let's go out to dinner."

"You gonna use your employee discount for us, Chouji?"

He laughs. "You suck," Ino grumbles. "Can't think of a better insult?" Kiba jeers. She punches him. "Ow. Bitch."

"Oh, go—" We all turn to look at her, surprised that such coarse language even exists.

"What's your problem, Ino?"

"Nothing," she growls, stomping into the kitchen. We hear her turn the faucet on. Hinata starts after her, but Sakura pushes her away. "Whoa, whoa—"

"Hey, when did you get that hickey on your neck?"

Oh, shit. "I have to—"

"Hey, don't corner him. Let's just go to dinner. I'll pay."

"I have to check my e-mail and phone first. My mom might have called," I lie.

I rush into my room and log on to my e-mail. Naruto wrote me saying he'd left an extremely awkward voicemail. My hands shake as I punch in the pass code. He contacted me. This weekend was real. I'll tell Hinata after dinner, then…something…to everyone else. What the fuck have I done?

I haven't eaten a dinner that rich in a long time. My friends express similar statements as we walk inside the house. "Feel better, Ino?"

"No."

"How 'bout you, Sakura?"

"Everything's great. I'm sorry I pushed Hinata." Her arms are crossed and she scowls.

"Man, what is WITH these two?"

"PMS."

"Right."

The two of them say their good-nights and depart at the door. Shikamaru and Neji remind me to tell Itachi about this weekend. Like I'd forget. I cross my arms, glare and say as much. They laugh and depart after I promise to watch the game this weekend with them.

"Is it weird to eat at the same place you work at?"

"No, not really."

"Hey, can you make dog treats for Akamaru?"

"Uh, sure. They're probably going to be sourdough slices cooked in bacon or chicken grease until I figure out something better though."

"Cool! He'll like that. Thanks, Chouji."

"Hinata."

She smiles. I'm not fooled. She knows the hickey's there. Oh, this is going to take forever—I can't figure out what to say. "I went to an anime convention this weekend."

"You don't even like anime."

"I know. Shika and Neji convinced me that I should because it'd be a respite from Temari and all the other things that have been stressing me out." She nods and my stomach sinks, or so it feels, as I realize that was the only thing she needed to know: it's obvious I cheated. She just needed to know where. "I didn't plan on it. We met the first day and it just—"

"I don't want to hear that it was some random stranger you had sex with," she's starting to cry. "That's what happened, okay." She pauses. I haven't said anything since she interrupted me. She takes a shaky breath. "What was her name, Sasuke?"

"His name is Naruto."

Emitting a strangled yowl as tears pour down her face, she slaps me with all the strength she can muster. My head turns to the side. My eyes water and the side of my face stings. Hinata rushes out of the room.

Kiba barges in. "Sasuke—what happened to your face?"

"Hinata slapped me."

Kiba looks flabbergasted. "SHE hit YOU?"

"Thanks, Kiba."

"Why?"

The heat in my face is receding. I should feel guilty, indignant...I don't feel anything. "I cheated on her." He shakes his head. "That's low." The silence stretches on for a full two minutes before he turns and walks out of the room, closing the door behind him. I flop backward onto the bed, one hand over my eyes. While this is what I expected, I didn't anticipate how I would feel.

"Sasuke? Sasuke." Naruto said my name like that too. "What's wrong?" When I was younger, I idolized my brother. I wanted to look like him, walk like him, talk like him, be like him. It would seem I have part of my childhood wish: my brother has sex with men, one in particular for the past three months. I've done stuff with a guy. The phone crackles. "Itachi, are you still there?"

"Yeah."

How do I even—"I went to an anime convention this weekend."

"Did you have fun?"

"I went with Shika and Neji," I rattle, ignoring his question. "They have photos of me taking you up on the bet. I borrowed some of Sakura's clothes." Now, I falter. "I met some really cool guys."

"Are they from here?"

"Yeah." Silence. "So, how's Deidara?"

"Are you on drugs?" My brother's voice rarely conveys his emotions so clearly. Surprise, disdain. "No," I grumble. "Since when is it a federal crime for me to ask about someone important to you?"

"It's not, it's just…rare."

Silence. "He's fine."

"Good." Silence.

"I'll get you the gift cards tonight."

"Itachi?"

"Yes, Sasuke." He's always been patient with me.

"When did you realize you were gay?"

"I was nine and realized I'd never had a crush on a girl."

"That's not fair." Good job, Sasuke. I didn't mean to say that.

"What's going on?"

"One of the guys at the convention and I—we—I cheated on Hinata. It wasn't exactly sex."

"So a stranger gives you and orgasm and because it's a guy, you run to your token gay guy, your older brother."

"Do you have to be such an asshole about this?"

"Takes one to know one."

"Itachi!"

"Sasuke! You did something sexual with a man! Stop making a big deal out of it, and if you tell your friends, tell them the truth."

"It's a big deal to me, Itachi, and I already told Hinata."

I exhale heavily and inhale deeply. "Just stop by tomorrow with the gift cards." I stuff the phone in my pocket and slam my bedroom door. My mail from the last five days is on the table, along with some of Kiba's. I gather the envelopes addressed to me and flick through them. Junk mail. Junk mail. Pre-approved credit cards. I'll cross-shred them and check to see if my identity has been stolen. My bills are current. My credit is excellent. Good. Being stingy has really helped me. Bank statements. I'll call them to double-check that the mail is valid.

Kiba goes through his stuff even faster. "What's that, your hundredth letter of appreciation from the pet store this month?"

"No." Akamaru whines. "Hang on, Maru, I'll take you for a walk in a bit." He disappears into the living room, probably to the corner where his stuff is stashed. He returns with the thin blue leash around his neck.

There's no use in keeping this from him. Hinata's going to tell him if I don't.

"Kiba."

"Huh."

"It was with a guy." He straightens and turns to face me, immediately understanding. "That's just sick, man. You should've told me before I moved in." He's pale now, shaking his head. "I have to—I can't stay here if you're going to be a fag."

"I'm not—"

"Don't, Sasuke." He takes a deep breath. "I'll be back in ten minutes from walking Akamaru. I'll go pack then, and leave. We'll still be friends, and I hope you'll still be able to pay your rent. I just can't live with you. It's too weird." He's out the door before I protest. Damn this all.

His stuff is packed in twenty minutes flat and his car tires squeal as he drives away. I really want to talk to Itachi. I have homework. An hour later, as I finish sending it to my professor over e-mail, my phone vibrates. Our conversation is short. Itachi is coming over to give me the gift cards and he reminds me that we're visiting our parents tomorrow. "Tell them you and Hinata aren't doing well," he suggests after handing me the three pieces of plastic and laughing over the photos. "They'll be happy."

They are. They smile and encourage me to find someone else. I shake my head petulantly and finish my food.

I talk to Naruto on a regular basis now. It happened. "You're still straight, Sasuke, just on the down low," he agrees with me, then teases me. When this comes up, the conversation is always the same.

A week passes. My friends know now. Sakura yelled at me and I shouted back. Same thing with Ino. There's so much tension. Hinata and I break up. She cries and moves out. A month passes. I'm still adjusting to my circumstances when I fall behind on my bills. I don't have a job. Chouji, Ino, and Sakura can't all pay for the condo, their tuition and textbooks all at once. We lose the condo. I stay with Neji and Shikamaru and get a job. Sakura and Ino move back in with their parents. Chouji stays with a friend of his from work. I get a two-bedroom condo and we all move back in together, even Kiba. Chouji cooks dinner to celebrate. I wear the babydoll shirt I bought at the con until Ino informs me what the phrase 'I love yaoi' means. I remove the shirt immediately, much to Ino's delight, and stuff it in a dresser drawer.

Months pass. Naruto visits sometimes. He gets along well with everyone, and they encourage him to come over more often. Graduation nears. Naruto and I officially start dating. I maintain my 'I am a two at the most on the Kinsey scale' attitude until we have sex on his bed. Then, it's 'that hurt, I never want to do it again and I'm still straight.' That attitude persisted for a week. Naruto's very patient. So are my friends. Kiba's still a homophobe, but becoming more tolerant. The day he subtly apologizes, I'm accepted in to graduate school. Naruto graduates a week later.

A week after that, it's my (and Kiba's, and Chouji's, as well as Sakura's and Ino's) turn. Graduations are boring except for the speeches. This time is no exception. I'm always one of the last ones to walk. My parents are always proud of me, and Itachi always brags to his friends. My parents still don't know about Naruto, except that he's a friend. I don't think I'll ever let them know. I've already met Kakashi and Iruka. I like them.

I walk, accept the small, leather folder-like thing that holds my fake degree, shake hands, walk offstage and pray that my real degree will arrive quickly in the mail. I've graduated. It's time for me to make something of myself.


End file.
